Open AccessU.C. Berkeley Nuclear Engineering curriculum and research enhancement. Final report for award DE-FG03-94ER-76010 and progress report for award DE-FG03-95NE-38105, February 15, 1993--September 29, 1996
Author(s) -
Wm E. Kastenberg,
Per F. Peterson
Publication year - 1996
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/290892
Subject(s) - curriculum , triga , nuclear power plant , engineering , nuclear power , research reactor , engineering management , political science , nuclear physics , neutron , physics , law
This report discusses the progress achieved during the multi-year program for curriculum and research enhancement for the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Due to its declining utility for research, six years ago the department decommissioned the TRIGA research reactor, to make the space available for an accelerator-driven rotating target neutron source for fusion studies. The DOE has traditionally supported these university reactors, in part because they provide a vital educational experience for undergraduate students in reactor operations. Thus in 1993 the department was determined to use its DOE award to replace the undergraduate education that the research reactor formerly provided with an equal or superior educational experience. As this progress report indicates, they can now make a compelling argument that the effort has been successful. Students now have the opportunity to spend a full week at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, after spending two weeks full time at Berkeley studying plant operations. The students spend a full day operating the plant using the full-scale simulator, spend a day each individually and in small groups with operations and engineering personnel, and by the end of the week are intimately familiar with the basics of nuclear power plant operations, at a depth that can not be achieved with a university research reactor. A primary mission for nuclear engineering departments will remain the education of the engineers who will be responsible for the safe operation of the nation`s existing nuclear power plants. In the past, university research reactors have provided a crucial element in that education. As more research reactors are decommissioned in response to evolving research needs, the program developed may serve as a useful model for other nuclear engineering departments